


The Dragon Sanctuary

by Renkocchi



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen, HTTYD AU, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-01 18:50:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14526918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renkocchi/pseuds/Renkocchi
Summary: Inspired by @howtodrawyourdragon on Tumblr, the story follows a still fifteen-year-old Hiccup, who is living with Valka in a tiny island that houses all dragons. Berk is where he attends school, and where his friends are. The Dragon Sanctuary and the bond Hiccup and Valka share with the dragons is supposed to be concealed, but one day, mysterious intruders appear to destroy the peace of Hiccup's life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AHeartForStories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHeartForStories/gifts).



“Well, I’ll be going now, mom.” the boy with the auburn hair hanging over his green eyes whispered to his sleeping mother, wearing a faint smile. He gently brushed his fingers through his small dragon's, Toothless' cold skin and closed the door as silently as he could before running down the forest road, heading to the small harbor. There, waited his father. Even busy as he was as the Mayor of Berk, his father would take him to and from school every day. And the boy was grateful for that.

“Good morning, dad.” He said, jumping into the boat.

“Good morning, Hiccup.” The large man with the long beard gave his son a smile. “Let’s get going then.”

The Dragon Sanctuary was a very small island, not even worthy of a title like “a dot in the map”. No, it was too small for even that. In the middle of that so-called dot in the map, stood the huge building that was the Sanctuary. That facility, making its way into a huge cave, and even into underground, was the home of all dragons. Wounded, hunted, injured, but even free and healthy ones, they all lived there, in peace, cared by Hiccup and his mother, Valka. The two had a special connection to the beasts, one not many people seemed to have –one many people were after.

Hiccup’s father, Stoick, as well as his friends and his mentor, were the few rare exceptions that could enter the Sanctuary at will. Anyone else was seen as an intruder, mostly due to the fact that nobody else knew about the Sanctuary. That said, the people who came uninvited were always bad news. Hiccup had had his fair share of experience with such people himself. Not that he was particularly fond of those memories.

“We’re here, son.”

_Those were some quick ten minutes,_ Hiccup thought as he was rising from his seat in the boat. From Berk’s harbor and to the school, Hiccup would always walk alone. It was a mostly empty road anyway, no houses were built there and nobody travelled frequently enough to use the road to the harbor. Well, except him and his father, who would always go off to work as soon as he’d taken his son to the island.

He wasn’t particularly bothered by the fact that he walked a twenty-minute distance all alone, but he knew it was worth it. Getting there just in time to catch Astrid by herself was always worth it. So he followed his routine. He took a few quick steps –one, two, and then he stopped counting. He took a deep breath and, just loud enough for her to hear him, he called for her.

“Astrid!” at that sound, the blonde would always turn around with the same smile and wait for him to catch up to her.

“Hey, Hiccup.” She said, punching him lightly on his shoulder. He’d stopped questioning that habit of hers by now. Then the girl’s expression tensed a little. “Hey, where’d that bruise come from?” she stretched her hand towards his wrist, without touching the darkened spot.

“Oh that, that’s nothing. I fell off the Sanctuary’s roof yesterday trying to fix something…” Astrid gave him the same “done” look she always did when he’d hurt himself. “I- it’s okay! A tree stopped the fall and then I climbed down from it. I’m okay, see!” he smiled awkwardly, avoiding making eye contact with her. He spotted the rest of the gang just a few meters ahead. “Oh hey look, there’s everyone!” that was the perfect time to avoid that subject and thus avoid Astrid’s anger.

Upon greeting everyone, the boy sank his hands into his jacket’s pockets. Winter was close.

Walking through the school corridors, Hiccup only listened as his friends were dueling over who was the best character of a show that was currently airing. Snotlout seemed utterly convinced that the hero was best because of how brave he was, facing every and any situation.

“He isn’t braver than I am, but he’s close.” He noted. The twins seemed to have taken the antagonist’s side, charmed by al the destruction he was causing. They insisted they both wanted to be more like him. Fishlegs refused to take part I such a heated argument and so instead he was talking with Astrid about something Hiccup couldn’t quite hear. All in all, he was enjoying himself. His mom and his experiences had taught him how fleeting these peaceful moments were, so for him, even such trivial conversations he wasn’t even part of, were fun and well, precious, even.

With such conversations and debates the days passed by quite quickly, always, without fail. Today too, ignoring most of the boring lectures, paying more attention to his sketches of dragons and to his friends, Hiccup felt the day pass by much too quickly for his liking. Ahead of him was a long weekend. He wouldn’t see his friends for the next two days.

“Guys, guys, do you want to come over to the Sanctuary?” Hiccup was walking a few steps behind them. It wasn't everyday Hiccup would ask of them to accompany him back to his home, the gang turned their heads toward him, giving him a strange look. Astrid was the first to speak up.  
"Sure, why not. It's been a while since we've been there anyway."  
"Ohhh, I can't wait to see all the dragons again!" Fishlegs almost jumped, reaching the boat in the harbor.  
"Thanks guys. Mom will be glad to see you too."  
"Yer all goin to the Sanctuary? The boat'll be heavy this time 'round." Behind them stood Gobber, nobody had heard him walk to them. The broken man with fake hand and leg, ruffed through Hiccup's hair and got himself into the boat. "Yer dad's busy, I'll take ya to the island today."  
Hiccup only nodded, this wasn't an unusual situation. He was very fond of Gobber, though. When he was far too young to be in a world as serious as the Sanctuary, when he was living with his father who was usually gone, Gobber took care of him. He still remembered bits and pieces, scenes where the large man put a scrawny five-year-old to sleep, telling him tales of bravery. Scenes where the two fought as if they were father and son. Scenes where the two bonded like father and son, eating together and telling jokes and laughing. Gobber taught many things to Hiccup, and the boy couldn't be more grateful for the man's existence.  
Gobber had to leave for Berk right away, so he disappeared right after he dropped the kids off.  
"Thanks, Gobber." Hiccup offered the man a smile and he did the same.  
\------------------

Hiccup hadn't even managed to fully open the door of the tall building, when a tiny creature jumped onto him, knocking him to the ground. The small, black dragon was but a baby, but he had all the energy he needed to play with his favorite human all day. When Toothless began licking his face, Hiccup let out a laugh.  
"Come on, bud, you know that doesn't wash off!" He said, still laughing faintly.  
By that time, all of his friends had gotten into the Sanctuary.  
There were countless dragons resting inside the cave that was sealed off by a door taller than all the kids put together. Both Valka and Hiccup could and had the right to open that door, but nobody else did. That's why when Fishlegs begged for Hiccup to open the door, his mother intervened.  
"As much as I want you to get more involved with the dragons, I don't think it's a good idea to go in there unattended."  
"But we've been there before." Snotlout voiced, gaining glares from all of the other kids. He muttered an "oops" before turning to look at Hiccup, pointing his finger at him "B-but he let us in!"  
"Snotlout!" Astrid snapped, punched his back, and watched with satisfaction as he almost doubled over.  
"You let them in there?" Valka turned to her son, not raising her voice in the slightest, but Hiccup could tell from her eyes that she was quite mad at him.  
"I, well... uh... well they're aspiring guardians of the Sanctuary! Yeah, so..." he didn't dare continue. Toothless purred as he shifted positions in Hiccup's arms.  
Valka let out a long sigh and pressed her hand against her face. All the while, none of the kids moved. She knew her son meant no harm, that child wouldn't hurt a dragon if his life depended on it. But what he did was dangerous to every one of the kids, as well as to the dragons.  
"Okay." She said "What's done is done. But you kids can't go inside again, unless I say so. Am I clear?"  
"Yes, ma'am..." a united answer echoed through the hall and then disappeared.  
"Good. Now, why don't you go outside and explore the island. Toothless can't fly well enough yet, how about you guys help him get better?" The kids' faces quickly lit up and soon, they had left the building, after greeting Valka goodbye. Only her son stayed behind, holding his petit dragon.  
"Uh, mom, I..."  
"It's fine, Hiccup. We can talk about it later. Get going, now. You don't want to make your friends wait do you?" The woman caressed his cheek tenderly. Unable to keep from smiling, Hiccup nodded and rushed outside.  
Reaching the harbor, where his friends were waiting, he spotted something unusual. A boat he'd never seen before. Holding his breath, he ran to the gang.  
"Who are they, Hiccup?" Fishlegs seemed to have taken a few steps backwards from everyone.  
"I... don't know."  
Astrid stood proactively in front of him, while Snotlout seemed a little taken aback. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were -for once- very quiet, only staring at the figures that had just set foot on the Island. His island. The dragons' island. Hiccup couldn't help but walk up to them, even if his chest was about to break from the pressure. Toothless too, was complaining about the human's strong grip. He climbed up to the boy's shoulders instead.  
It was a group of four, one woman and three men. They were all dressed formally. The woman looked around with a judging look, before finally settling her eyes on Hiccup and walking up to him.  
"Hiccup Haddock, I assume."  
"Who are you? What do you want?" He didn't have time for hesitation. As afraid as he was, he had had experiences like this one before. He knew his friends were in a much worse condition than him at the time.  
"Not very cooperative are you?"  
"Don't get me wrong, I adore talking to random strangers. You just don't look like a person I'd enjoy a conversation with."  
"That's a nice thing of you to say."  
"What do you want?"  
"By pure coincidence, it's you that I want, Hiccup Haddock. I see you've also got a Night Fury there, all the better. Our boss would very much like a gift like that."  
For once, Hiccup felt threatened. As soon as he saw the woman signaling to her companions, he took a step back, and told his friends to run. The twins and Fishlegs did as told, Snotlout following them after a bit of hesitation.  
"Get him." The woman ordered, and within seconds, Astrid grabbed Hiccup's hand and began running.  
_This isn't good._  
That was the only thought passing through the boy's mind, as he heard the heavy footsteps behind them approaching. He could only pray to the Gods now.


	2. Chapter 2

Astrid and Hiccup ran inside the forest for as long as their lungs allowed them to.  
"There." The boy said, out of breath, and pointed towards a high tree. "Let’s climb up. We can see the whole island from there."  
Astrid nodded. She knew nobody knew the island better than her friend. Knowing him, she was sure he had explored it countless times. At least enough to know about all its secrets.  
Upon climbing the tree, Astrid gasped at the view. Truly, every part of the Dragon Sanctuary could be seen. The forest that was circling it, the endless sea that collided with the sky, and even Berk could be seen faintly, behind the Sun's rays. She let a soft "Wow" escape her lips, just as Hiccup's voice attempted to bring her back to reality.  
"There." He said, nodding towards the forest path leading behind the cave of the Dragon Sanctuary. Those intruders couldn’t find the back entrance to the Sanctuary. Everything would be lost. "No." Hiccup made a sudden move to climb down the tree but Astrid stopped him.  
"What are you doing?!"  
"I'm going to put an end to this. I can't risk the dragons. Astrid, this is too important."  
"Hiccup you can't-"  
"I'll be fine, Astrid, don't worry." Even though he smiled at her, Astrid was still gloomy.  
"Don't you dare set foot outside this island, Hiccup." She said, voice almost trembling.  
"They're the ones who are leaving the Sanctuary. Now."  
Toothless attached to his back, Hiccup slid down the tree, leaving his friend behind. He took one step, and then a fastest one. He had to get to where he'd seen the group of four as fast as he could. It wasn't only the dragons he had to protect. It was also his home. His mother. If something happened to her, Hiccup didn't know what he'd do. Passing through branches and stray wood chunks, the boy tripped and fell countless times. His knees were scratched all over and some cuts were bleeding, but he didn't stop until he caught up to them. He stayed close behind, holding a rock in his hands, assured that he had his knife in his pocket. Toothless purred and complained, but Hiccup ordered him to hush.  
He walked slowly and quietly, holding his breath and trying to not make any sound. With his trembling hands he lifted the rock. His mind went blank for that one split second when he hit the man. He was the one farthest behind the others, thus being the first target. Hiccup had to balance himself on his toes to reach the man's head, but it was worth it. One down, three to go.  
Climbing on the boy's head, the small dragon made a growling sound.  
"What is it bud?" The boy kept his voice as low as he could, returning to being hidden. Toothless made no other sound.  
The two men and the blonde woman stopped in their tracks to look at their limp companion, but resumed moving quickly after. They don't even care about him, Hiccup thought, feeling somewhat disgusted. Suddenly, after another growl, the small creature jumped off Hiccup and ran towards the intruders.  
"Toothless, no!" He whispered, stretching his hand towards him. He chased after Toothless, who was biting down on one of the men -with teeth he didn't have. He watched in fear as the man kicked the tiny beast, knocking the air out of it.  
"Well, we didn't even need to search for you." The same black haired man that had kicked Toothless said that, wearing an ominous smile.  
Hiccup took his dragon into a soft embrace, watching full of guilt as he clawed his little body onto the human's shirt.  
"Okay, you have me surrounded." He noticed the man he'd knocked out was now getting up. "What do you want?"  
"Our boss has some dragons of his own, you see, but they're not very useful rampaging and putting stuff on fire, you know." Once again, the woman approached him.  
"Yeah, well, dragons do that."  
"Keep the sarcasm to yourself, boy."  
The woman got Toothless' growl as a reply.  
"Long story short, our boss found that you are the one he needs."  
"Why me and not-"  
"Not your mother, for example? Everybody who knows about dragons knows about your mother. But you, Hiccup Haddock, are a well-kept secret. Were it not for the long lost friendship between your father and our boss, we wouldn't know about you either. So, nobody will come after you."  
"My family and friends will."  
"That's some confidence you've got there. I wonder how they're going to find you." She ticked her fingers, and the man behind Hiccup immobilized him. He put a cloth over his mouth and nose. Soon, he stopped struggling. Toothless fell off his arms. His vision got blurry. He tried to breath, but instead, he fell limp on the ground.  
Astrid could only watch from the top of the tree. She couldn't see exactly what was going on, or hear what was being said, but as soon as she saw Hiccup fall over, she knew she had to do something. And so she did. Climbing down the huge tree, as fast as her trembling limbs allowed her, she only thought of one person who could immediately help. Valka.  
Astrid ran towards the entrance of the Sanctuary, pushing with all her strength to open the enormous door. Out of breath, she screamed Valka's name. The woman walked through a door and then over to the girl. She seemed calm.  
"What is it, Astrid?" Her gentle voice echoed through the halls. She didn't like the kid's expression or lack of breath.  
"It's Hiccup! He's... he's been taken..."  
Immediately, Valka went pale. She thought nobody knew about her son. She thought nobody lived to tell the tale of him. Every intruder had been taken care of by Stoic. That's what she thought. Then... why? Who had taken him? How did they know about his ability? Had he offered himself instead of her? Had he done this to protect his mother?  
Valka felt the world disconnecting from her.  
"Miss Valka..."  
"We must find him. Now."  
"Their boat must still be in the harbor." Astrid tried to sound sure of herself and maybe even a bit optimistic, seeing as her friend's mother was trying to be strong. And she was strong, Astrid knew that. _But, knowing your child is in danger isn't the best feeling I'd guess,_ she thought.  
The two ran down the forest road to the harbor, exchanging no words. Both were thinking of the same things, sharing the same worries. Running, Astrid spotter the twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs.  
“Come on!” she yelled, “Hiccup’s in danger.”  
Five worried children and a mother continued huffing and puffing, tired by now, but with no intention to stop. That was until Astrid spotted the boat.  
"There!" She shouted, increasing her speed.  
They were almost there. They were this close to saving Hiccup. Valka thought they'd made it.  
But they were too late. The boat had just begun moving.  
Astrid made it to the end of the platform.  
"No! Damn it! Come back! Ugh!!" She stomped down her foot in frustration a few times, before turning back to look at Valka, who watched in fear as the boat was getting further and further away. The mother lowered her eyes and bit down her lips.  
"No, this will not end like this. We will find him." 

\--------------

Hiccup woke up to cold water being splashed on his face. He gasped and coughed, opening his eyes in surprise.  
“It was about time you woke up.” The woman threw the bucket that was formerly filled with water away.  
“Well, that was a warm welcome.” His voice came out lower than he expected.  
“Don’t mention it.” She replied and smiled. “We’re almost there.” Upon noting that, she walked away.  
Hiccup looked around in search for Toothless, feeling a strong relief taking over him when he saw the dragon lying next to him. His hands were tied, so he couldn’t pet him, but Hiccup noticed the tied up dragon looking straight in his eyes, as he let out a purr.  
“It’s going to be okay, Toothless. It’ll be okay.” Stretching his tied hands, he searched for his knife in his pocket, disappointed to find that it was no longer there. _Yeah, figured as much._  
Soon enough, the boat came to a sudden stop. Hiccup didn’t know how long he was unconscious, but the sun had just set, so he guessed that it took a while for them to get to the island that the boy was now setting foot on. One of the men was carrying Toothless as if he was a dirty rag. The teen almost growled at him. _Oh I swear, if they lay a hand on you I will make them pay._ He wished he could say the thought out loud to his companion, but he knew that wasn’t the best idea. Instead, he swallowed down his anger, which was soon replaced with worry and maybe even a tiny bit of fear too, as a huge man was approaching them.  
The man, with a black beard weighting down his scarred face and equally dark long hair, was wearing a black shirt, black trousers and shiny black shoes. In contrast to his employees, he wasn’t dressed in formal clothing. Hiccup guessed, with that getup, he could probably blend into darkness even better than Toothless.  
“Ye’re late.” His accent was a lot like Gobber’s, except, the tone of his voice was too ominous.  
“Maybe, boss, but we’ve brought him to you. Him and, another treat.” The unnamed woman gestured to Toothless, who refused to raise his eyes from the ground, much like his human did.  
“Ye’re a lot bigger than when I last saw ye. How’s Stoick doin’?” Hiccup didn’t know if it would be better if he answered or if he didn’t. He only slightly raised his head.  
“He asked you something.” The man holding him shouted, strongly pushing his back. Hiccup unwillingly took a few steps forward, coming too close to the man.  
“Yer name, son.”  
“You already know it, don’t you?”  
“Well, ye’re not wrong.” He laughed, but the boy could tell it wasn’t because he was having fun.  
“Lock ‘em up, I’ll spend some time with ‘em later.” Turning around, the man walked into a large building and disappeared.  
The Group of Four, as Hiccup had decided he’d call them, escorted him and Toothless to the very narrow prison cell they would spend the rest of their time at, and then left without a word.  
With his hands now free and untied, Hiccup gave his dragon a long hug, to which Toothless responded with a happy purr, rubbing his snout onto his human’s shirt.  
“It’ll be okay,” he said “…I only need to think of a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how frequently I will update this fic, since my finals are coming up, but I'm hoping I'll post at least one or two chapters before June.  
> Thank you for reading~!


	3. Chapter 3

Hiccup never realized when he fell asleep, but when he woke up, the cell was as dark as it was when he'd last seen it. It was a cold night and he really wished he could have a blanket right about now. Blinking a few more times, he brushed his hand over Toothless' soft skin. He didn't like being trapped there. He didn't like the huge man or the Group of Four. He didn't like the way that man had kicked his dragon, or the feeling of being forced into unconsciousness. He didn't like any of this, really.   
Toothless turned his little head to look at him and the boy only smiled.   
"Okay, Hiccup, think." He mumbled to himself, feeling a bit better upon realizing that he at least had his companion with him. He was just about to finally relax his thoughts, when heavy footsteps echoed through the walls. He didn't know if it was by reflex, but he tensed up again. He decided to pretend to be asleep. A stinky breath almost made him grimace but he had to keep still. He heard a growl. A human one.   
"Mala, wake the boy up and bring 'im to my office, will ye."  
"Yes, Alvin." A feminine voice was heard. Hiccup knew it belonged to the woman who'd brought him there.  
"'Tis not right for prisoners to be sleepin' in this late." The man laughed and walked out the door.   
The woman -Mala, as she was called, unlocked the cell and walked inside. Saying a prayed inside his head, Hiccup opened his eyes and kicked Mala's legs, hard enough for her to fall down. Quickly getting up, he ran outside the huge room filled with narrow cells, heading towards the exit. Toothless, whom Hiccup was strongly holding, was letting out delighted screeches.   
That is, until Hiccup bumped into somebody. Somebody who was strong enough to lift him by the shirt.  
"And where do ye think ye're goin'?" The man dressed in black, Alvin, looked at him straight in his green eyes.   
"I uh... I just thought I'd take a walk." Hiccup laughed nervously, taking in a breath before Alvin dropped him back onto the floor. Toothless was clawed onto his shirt, so this time, the two didn't get separated, even when Hiccup let go of him to support his own fall.  
"Come an' take a walk to my office, then." Alvin was pulling his arm now, moving through tunnels, stairs and corridors at a fast pace. The boy only wished he'd let go of his arm. That huge man's grip was, as expected, quite strong. Eventually, after passing by countless doors that looked exactly the same, they entered a room that was by itself in the whole floor. Alvin dragged him inside and sat him on a chair, not bothering to tie his hands.   
The room was bright, in contrast to the rest of the building, bathed in the sunlight coming in from the window. The teen had to adjust his eyes to the brightness before looking around curiously. There wasn't much inside, making the already huge room look a lot bigger. Some chairs were placed around the table-like office which took up most of the space, but that was about it. Hiccup was honestly surprised.  
"So." He began, after a moment of silence "Do tell me, How's Stoick?"  
"He's doing well." He thought it would be foolish of him to not answer in that situation.  
"Nice, nice." Alvin laughed "I'm guessin' he won't be doin' so well when he learns ye're gone." He looked with satisfaction at the boy who shivered with disgust and, possibly fear. Hiccup wasn't sure himself. But the chill he felt going down his spine was very much real. That man was crazy.  
"What do you want from me? I'm sure you didn't drag me all the way here just to ask about my father."   
"That's true." The stretched smile he was wearing quickly disappeared, as he took on a more serious look. "I want my dragons trained, y'see. There's no point in catchin' them if I can't use 'em."   
"Why do you capture dragons?"   
"So many times I thought of usin' 'em against yer father but, y'know, what with the Dragon Sanctuary an' all, I don't think I'd stand a chance." Alvin perhaps waited for an answer from the boy when he made a pause, but letting out a grunt, he continued. "So, I decided I'd sell 'em off. They fetch a good price. Especially that Night Fury of yers. A Viggo guy up north would love to have one of his own, I'd bet. He's my best buyer."   
Hiccup gave him a surprised look, then raised his brow and upper lip in a disgusted manner. How could he treat such glorious creatures as products. Toothless growled when he noticed Hiccup clenched his fists, and then purred when the boy relaxed.   
"I am not going to help you." He said, as calmly as he could.   
"Oh I think ye are."

\------------------- 

Dawn had long risen when Stoick arrived at the Dragon Sanctuary. He knew his son was missing, he knew Gobber and Hiccup's friends were on the Island with Valka, but he just couldn't get his hands free the previous day. He felt so, so guilty about that. When Valka had called him, he wanted to drop everything and rush to the Sanctuary, to his wife's side. But the Isle of Berk was about to face the harsh winter, and he couldn't let his people starve. Valka reminded him over the phone, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." She was very understanding and he loved her for that. But, even when she said that, Stoick could hear her trembling voice.   
When he reached the entrance of the Sanctuary, he pushed it with all his might, not ready to face all of the pale and unrested faces that greeted him.   
"What took ye so long, Stoick?" Gobber wasn't angry, not at all. Stoick could tell from his voice that he was only worried. Well, maybe too worried. The man only shook his head and ran to his wife, who dived into his arms, her shoulders trembling ever so slightly. The husband caressed her hair and cheek.   
"We will find him, Valka. I promise." At his words, the woman only nodded. She wasn't crying. Even as scared as she was, she forbid herself to show any more weakness. She was the mistress of the Dragon Sanctuary, she couldn't be weak.   
The teens, the two men and the woman sat down and talked about Hiccup's possible whereabouts for hours, until Stoick's eyes suddenly widened.   
"There's..." he began, putting his hand on his beard as everybody turned to look at him. "There's only one person who knows about the Sanctuary and Hiccup and isn't on Berk anymore." Before he could say the name, Gobber stood up.  
"Alvin!"   
"Nobody knows where Alvin went after leaving the island." Valka looked even more concerned now.   
"Who's Alvin?" Snotlout was the first to speak up, surprising the others.   
"Alvin is a traitor. Because of his mistakes, the Sanctuary was almost taken over, once. Hiccup wasn't even two months old when that happened. I exiled him from Berk and nobody heard from him since."   
"So this Alvin guy is our biggest lead right now, then." Astrid's face regained some of its color as she let some hope sprout inside her.   
"Yes. Now the only thing we need is his location..." Stoick lowered his eyes.  
"No." Valka was almost smiling "Not Alvin's. Hiccup's. I've got an idea." 

 

\--------------------

Toothless purred a complaint and rubbed his snout on Hiccup's hand. The Night Fury settled on his human's shoulders and hang his head over them.  
"I know bud, I'm tired too." _And hungry_ , he thought, _and thirsty._  
After that empty threat, Alvin had returned him to his cell. Even though it didn't last long, it was quite the tiring conversation. Hiccup was still trying to process the thought of someone selling and buying dragons. With one move, a dragon could easily eliminate a person. So how... how could they keep them docile enough in order to sell them? He didn't even want to think about the possible ways. He kept on petting Toothless with care. He couldn't let anything happen to him. He _wouldn't_ let anything happen to him.   
Snapping out if his thoughts, he was brought back to reality by a pair of echoing footsteps. Mala waltzed up to his cell, staring at him with a confident look. She was holding a disc, which she slid under the cell's bars. On it, there was a bowl of soup and a slice of bread, as well as a bottle of water.  
"Such hospitality." Hiccup rolled his eyes. Giving a side glance to the disc, he noticed there was nothing on it for his dragon. "What about Toothless?"   
"It's not my problem what the reptile eats." Mala gave him a sarcastic smile before turning his back to him and exiting the prison. The creature purred.   
"It’s okay bud. I'm not that hungry anyway." Toothless looked at Hiccup with his big eyes, and slightly nudged his arm. "It's fine, go on."   
The dragon licked the soup only once before turning his eyes upwards to look at his human again, who nodded and pushed the disc even closer to his companion. He watched with relief as Toothless ate the fish soup gladly, and gently stretched his hand to pet his snout.   
Hiccup was starting to get worried by now. He’d lost track of time, he’d only had half a bottle of water to drink since he was captured, having given the other half to Toothless, and he’d only eaten a slice of bread. Of course, he wouldn’t complain. He was glad he’d given the soup to his dragon. After all, he was still very little. He had to be nurtured well. He had to be _raised_ well. And the boy wouldn’t let Alvin harm him in any way, direct or indirect.   
The Night Fury yawned, and so did the human, a few seconds after him. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but he knew it had been hours since Mala gave him the disc and then walked off. Toothless breathed out the slightest amount of fire, to warm up the floor, and curled up next to Hiccup, who kept on caressing the wings and body of the creature. Once he’d made sure the dragon was safely asleep, without effort, he let his own eyelids close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is done! Thank you for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

"For the thousandth time, I'm not going to help you sell those dragons. Nor am I going to teach you how to train them."  
It had probably been days by now since Mala had captured Hiccup, and he hadn't felt more tired in his whole short life. But Alvin was there to make it even worse.  
"Fair enough, ye don't want the easy way, so we'll do it the hard way." Alvin, paying no mind to the baby dragon's growls, pushed Hiccup outside the building and dragged him to a gigantic, oval shaped cage. The man called it an arena. The boy gulped when he saw a Monstrous Nightmare strolling left and right inside that so-called arena, trying to fly but hitting onto the thick bars. He winced. That was unacceptable.  
"Release the dragon, Alvin. You can't keep him locked up inside the cage." Suddenly, the beast approached them quickly and breathed out fire so hot it could melt a person away. However, the metal bars took no damage. The Nightmare growled and roared before going back to trying to find its way out of its prison.  
"Good luck in there." Alvin, giving Hiccup no time to react, swiftly unlocked the arena's door and tossed the boy and his dragon inside.  
"What are you doing?!"  
"Ye'll train that dragon if ye don't wanna die."  
Hearing the red dragon's deafening roar, Hiccup turned his back to Alvin and faced the creature. Toothless, even though visibly scared, let out screeches and growls with his tiny voice.  
"Don’t Toothless, stay behind me." The boy knew, the amount of fire his dragon could produce was barely enough to light up a torch. If Toothless stepped up now, he'd only be burnt to a crisp, leading the Night Fury species into extinction. Toothless was, after all, the last known dragon of his kind. So, if not for himself, then surely for his dragon, he had to act. Even if that meant he would show Alvin the way to train the dragons.  
Knowing the risks fully well, Hiccup took a small, calm step towards the Monstrous Nightmare. He let out a breath. He trusted the dragon. He had to, or else it wouldn't trust the teen. Scoffing, it growled violently and lit itself on fire. Hiccup stopped in his tracks, he didn't move. He only whispered.  
"It's okay... calm down..." He took a few small and steady steps towards it, careful to not make any sudden moves. He'd noticed the Nightmare's pupils had gotten a bit bigger. _That's good_ , he thought, _let's hope he stays that way._  
It took a few minutes and some prayers before Hiccup was finally close enough to the dragon. He lowered his head, stretched out his hand, as slowly as possible, and waited for a reaction. Sooner than later, Hiccup tensed up as he felt it's snout on his palm. He raised his head with relief and petted the Nightmare's head.  
"There you go." He smiled. Toothless soon ran over to his human who took him in his arms. "There. Are you satisfied?" The boy turned his attention towards Alvin, who was now opening the cage.  
"How'd you do that?" He was looking up at the dragon before switching his target to Hiccup, giving him a look of both suspicion and admiration.  
"I'm not going to explain it."  
"You won't win anything by not following orders Hiccup Haddock." Maps was the one who answered, never getting rid of her serious expression. She earned no answer from the boy, who continued to caress the fiery dragon's snout.  
"Take 'im back to the cell. I've got various methods to try on the beast."  
"What do you mean?" Hiccup charger at Alvin, but was knocked down by Mala, who put handcuffs on him and began dragging him away with one hand, holding Toothless in the other. "No, wait!" He yelled and tried to leave, but even when he managed to break free from the woman's grasp, he was quickly caught by the three men of the Group of Four. Soon enough, he was back in his cell. "Wait! Let me go back! The dragon-"  
"Shut your mouth." It was the first time he'd heard that man speak, but he followed his orders and sat himself down. Upon making sure that the Group of Four had left, he let out a grunt and ruffled through his hair with his hands. The situation had suddenly gotten serious. And it was all his fault.  
"We gave to get out of here."  
Hiccup hadn't eaten anything more than a couple slices of bread ever since he was captured; he'd drank small amounts of water and hadn't gotten much sleep. He'd been dizzy all day, even when he trained the Monstrous Nightmare. He was missing his home, his friends, he really was feeling terrible. He had said to Mala that his family and his friends would come and get him, but it felt so, so long since he'd been dragged away from then, that he didn't really believe in that anymore. Hiccup wanted to go home.  
That, though, didn't mean that he'd stop himself from making a plan, something he'd much rather have done days earlier. No, he had even more motivation now.  
\--------------  
Valka's plan was to fly with dragons to find her son. She'd have the dragons sniff Hiccup's shirt or something similar, and track his scent. However, her boy's friends were too persistent; they urged her to let them go too.  
"No," Valka had said strictly, "This is too dangerous and you're all only teens. You're kids. I can't risk you getting hurt."  
"But Hiccup's our friend, and it's our fault we couldn't protect him." Astrid stepped up, followed by Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff, and finally Fishlegs.  
"We're only going to waste time until you learn how to train a dragon."  
"Oh don't worry." Ruff smiled.  
"We already know." Tuff gave a mischievous look to all of his friends and felt satisfied when they returned the same look to him.  
Valka was surprised to find that indeed, in the very few times Hiccup had secretly taken the other teens into the Sanctuary, they'd even found their companions.  
"Unbelievable." The woman sighed. She was proud of what her son and his friends had accomplished (she viewed those children as her own, after all), but she was also angry at them, having snuck inside so many times, without her permission. Too many things could have gone wrong.  
She cut her own thoughts off. She couldn't think about the what-ifs now. She had no time. Eventually, she had agreed to letting the teens help her and Stoick. It took a couple of days for them to actually manage to ride the dragons they'd gotten familiar with, but with some thought, Valka decided that six heads were better than two, and that those two days were worth it... hopefully. Hopefully her son was alright. Hopefully Alvin hadn't done anything to him. Hopefully she wouldn't come to regret those two days.  
But now, she was in the sky, together with her magnificent Cloudjumper, her husband and her son's friends. Couldjumper was familiar with both Toothless and Hiccup's scent, so, she hoped that they would find them as quickly as possible. It had already been four days since her boy was taken, and her heart and mind couldn't take it anymore. Even Stoick had been saying how worried he was, something he almost never did. That alone let Valka realize how grim the situation was.

\----------------------  
Hiccup's cell didn't have any windows, but he knew it was night, he'd asked the guards a few minutes before. The time was close.  
He knew most of the complex building's corridors by now, having passed by them countless times in the days he was there -of which the number he still didn't know. He had memorized where the guards stood. Escaping from the building would be easy... and then, he'd go to free the captured dragon. And fly away with him.  
It wasn't the best or most detailed plan he'd come up with in his life, Hiccup had to admit, but it would work. It wasn't like he had the energy to think of something else. He was now feeling a little bit better -emotionally speaking- after having cried a little bit, holding Toothless in his arms all the while. The small creature only made gentle cooing noises and rubbed his nose against his human's shirt to comfort him. He was grateful.  
As moments passed and he was counting seconds until he set his plan in motion, the desire to return home was getting bigger and bigger. He was close.  
Finally, he splashed some water from his bottle onto his hands and shaped tears on his face, before moving towards the bars.  
"Guards, I... I can't handle this anymore... I'll tell Alvin what he wants to know..." He sounded as miserable as he could. He didn't have to try much, actually. One of the guards laughed and poked the other with his elbow.  
"Four days huh. Told ya he wouldn't make the week."  
"I know, shut up, twenty bucks right?"  
Hiccup felt disgusted. These people placed a bet on whether he would last a week or not.  
"I want to go home. Please, take me to Alvin so he can let me go." Full of irony, the guards unlocked the cell and before they could tie his hands, he unleashed Toothless.  
The dragon began to scratch one's face with joy, as Hiccup hit the other's head with the wooden, heavy disc.  
"Damn brat!" He yelled, trying to push Hiccup away with one hand while brushing blood away from his forehead.  
The boy felt really bad hitting the man, guilt had already sank inside him. But there wasn't much else he could have done; he didn't have any other choices. Eventually, the man fell limp on the floor, groaning. Hiccup then switched to the other, scrawnier man, telling Toothless to get away. The second attack didn't last long. As soon as the man fell down, Hiccup grabbed Toothless and ran outside. On his toes, as silent as he could be, he passed through the corridors ever so carefully. So far, nobody had taken notice of him. He didn't let himself get excited yet. He still had a long way to go to succeed. However, when he passed through the enormous door of the building, leaving the guards dumbfounded, he couldn't help but smile, wearing a happy expression. That, though, would soon change.  
"It's okay, bud. We're close." Toothless, though, kept staring behind them. Running after them were a few guards that stood by the building's entrance, and Hiccup did his best to outrun them.  
He thought he was blocking every sound out of his mind, but when he heard a dragon's cry, he shot his head up, searching for any familiar form in the night sky.  
"Hiccup!" It was a voice he knew, one he longed to hear. It was his father's. Couldjumper landed right in front of him, licking his whole body, almost, before two forms jumped off him, a petite and a huge one.  
"Oh Hiccup, oh I'm so glad you're okay." Valka quickly wrapped her arms around him, and so did his father, whispering a soft "Son." Hiccup couldn't have been more relieved.  
Soon enough, Hiccup's friends landed near them too.  
"Astrid! Guys! Wha- what are you doing here?" Filled with surprise, the boy ran up to his friends who began bombarding him with questions. Fishlegs soon stopped them, though.  
"No time for that, Hiccup, we've got company!"  
The guards had caught up to them. Alvin and the Group of Four could be seen a few meters behind them. Well, Alvin, the Group of Four and the Monstrous Nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure there are only a couple of chapters left for this story to finish. ^v^ Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This story is related to this post (https://howtodrawyourdragon.tumblr.com/post/173395600740/i-had-a-dream-about-httyd-last-night-except-it) by @howtodrawyourdragon on Tumblr, so make sure you check their blog out. Thank you for reading!!


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